METHUEN, MASS. (WHDH) - After her wedding, Kathleen Dunlevy’s preserved gown was stored away, sealed tight and out of sight. Fifteen years later when she unsealed it for the first time for a family wedding, she said she discovered that the dress inside was not hers.
“My dad picked it up, gave it to me, I never thought about it. it’s literally wrapped in plastic,” said Dunlevy. “Unseal it, unseal it, open it, and ‘oh my god. Is that my dress?’ It was a beautiful dress. Just wasn’t mine.”
After realizing she had the wrong dress in storage, Dunlevy said she turned to social media. She posted photos of the mystery dress hoping someone would recognize it.
“It was crazy. People were so kind,” she said.
Dunlevy said the post spread quickly, with shares, tags, and comments pouring in until it eventually reached the right person.
Melissa Cappuchi said she connected the dots after seeing the post, and the dress was identified.
“I didn’t even look at the photos to be honest with you. I just thought it was weird that the same thing happened to me,” said Cappuchi. “I was more shocked than anything, trying to figure out if it’s my dress, telling my kids. I have a photo album out.”
Fifteen years after saying “I do,” the two women connected over a mix up they never knew happened.
“She [Cappuchi] opened hers right away and she looked at it she said, ‘this isn’t my dress,'” said Dunlevy. “The way she told the story to me, she said, ‘this is very plain.’ Hers had a lot of sparkle, a lot of gems. She remembers that it had a flower on it, which mine had, like, a flower in the center.”
With Cappuchi’s dress back where it belongs, the search now turns to Dunlevy’s. She said her ivory gown has a mermaid silhouette, buttons down the back, a sweetheart neckline, and “KS” hand-sewn inside. She says the gown is more than a missing garment, it’s a piece of her family history meant to be passed down.
“My grandmother bought me that dress,” said Dunlevy. “And she’s no longer with us, and I was very close with her. And my daughter had always said that she wanted it maybe one day.”
The dry cleaner where both women picked up their gowns is now out of business.
If the missing gown looks familiar to you, you can reach out to 7NEWS at senditto7@whdh.com, or call us at 1-800-280-TIPS, and we will put you in contact with Kathleen Dunlevy.
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